Two years after his infamous Oscar meltdown, Will Smith has dispelled lingering doubts about his career comeback.
A rare bright spot in the slow summer box office, the action comedy “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” co-starring Martin Lawrence, opened atop the box office charts this weekend with $56 million in domestic ticket sales and $104.6 million. million worldwide.
The stronger-than-expected debut for the fourth installment in the long-running buddy cop franchise marks the 15th time Smith has taken a film to the number one spot at the box office. The achievement is particularly notable as Smith returns to one of his best-known roles in his first major theatrical release since he stormed the stage and punched Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars for a joke about his wife, Jada. Pinkett Smith. (The actor, who won the lead actor award for his role in “King Richard,” later resigned from the film academy and apologized for his conduct.)
Given Smith's track record (with more than $9 billion in worldwide box office earnings), industry expectations for “Ride or Die” heading into the weekend were cautiously optimistic.
The star's last big appearance, director Antoine Fuqua's 2022 action thriller “Emancipation,” in which Smith played a runaway slave, was largely ignored in its limited theatrical release and failed to win any awards. , which left the actor's future an open question. But with the latest “Bad Boys” movie, Smith once again found himself on solid ground, reuniting with Lawrence in a franchise that dates back to its box office heyday in the mid-'90s.
Lawrence, left, and Smith in a scene from “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.”
(Frank Masi)
While “Ride or Die” fell short of the $62.5 million opening of its predecessor, 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life,” which ended up as the biggest box office hit of that pandemic-affected year, it still provided A much-needed boost to Hollywood's summer box office, which has seen a string of releases like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Fall Guy,” underperform.
Even with the relative success of “Ride or Die,” the total domestic box office so far this year is still a staggering 26% less than last year. As Hollywood continues to struggle to recover from the double whammy of the pandemic and strikes, the industry will take the good news wherever it can find it.
“Normally the gold standard [for a summer blockbuster] “It's a $100 million opening, but in the context of this market, it's a total win for both Will Smith and the industry as a whole,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at data firm ComScore. “I think it also shows that, despite many moviegoers denouncing a lack of originality, this R-rated buddy cop formula was exactly what audiences were looking for. “If you look at the best movies of the summer, generally speaking they are those tried and true brands, genres and stars.”
In fact, while “Ride or Die” earned mixed reviews, audiences were more favorable. Moviegoers, more than half of whom were under 35 and about 44% black, gave the film an A-minus CinemaScore in exit polls and a 97% audience score in Rotten Tomatoes.
Despite past controversy, Sony, which released “Ride or Die,” didn't shy away from Smith in its marketing, and the star went on an extensive publicity tour and appeared at the film's Los Angeles premiere performing his 1997 hit. “Miami” on top of a double-decker bus.
For audiences, there's a certain Pavlovian response to turning up for a summer movie starring Smith, who has had a disproportionate impact on Hollywood's most critical season with previous blockbusters like “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” “Hancock” and “I, Robot.” But at 55, with his popularity affected by the fallout from his Oscar outburst, it remains to be seen how he will fare outside that familiar comfort zone.
“They used to call Will Smith 'Mr. Fourth of July'; There was a time when you would look up ‘summer movie season’ in the dictionary and his photo would appear there,” Dergarabedian says. “If you include Will Smith, Martin Lawrence and 'Bad Boys,' you have a hit; It is simply a fait accompli. The most important question is: what will be his next movie?
Sony also took second place this weekend, with “The Garfield Movie” grossing $10 million in its third week of release. To date, the animated film about the lasagna-loving feline has grossed $68.6 million in North America and $192 million worldwide.
Paramount's family film “If” took third place with $8 million in its fourth weekend of release. After a slow start, the film has grossed $93.5 million domestically and $160.7 million worldwide.
This weekend's other major release, the supernatural horror film “The Watchers,” came in fourth with a disappointing $7 million from 3,351 theaters. Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, and starring Dakota Fanning, the film was panned by critics and audiences alike, earning a C-CinemaScore.
Rounding out the top five, Disney and 20th Century's “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” with $5.4 million in its fourth weekend, has earned $149 million in North America and $359.8 million domestically. worldwide, but it is still behind the three previous installments of the reboot. franchise.
While “Ride or Die” provided a moment of hope for the beleaguered box office – or at least a brief respite from doom – the coming weeks will determine whether this is the beginning of a sustained recovery or simply a temporary blip in a situation that otherwise it would be depressing summer season. Pixar's sequel “Inside Out 2” hits theaters next week, followed in late June by the prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” and the Kevin Costner-directed Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 ”.
“If this movie had underperformed, we'd be pulling our hair out trying to figure out what's going on,” Dergarabedian says. “This was a great result, but it didn't change the situation. It took us a while to get here and it's not going to change overnight. But at least we are moving in the right direction.”
